SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii – Fifty infantrymen of the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, earned their Expert Infantry Badge, Sept. 14-18.
On Aug. 24-28, the brigade participated in a pilot program of the EIB which tested the new standards at Schofield Barracks. At the end of the competition 2SBCT’s chain of command noticed many junior ranking Soldiers did not receive their EIB due to the unfamiliarity of the new standards and decided to re-train and give Soldiers another chance to earn their EIB. The re-training was successful with double the percentage of graduates including 12 junior Soldiers.
Sgt. Kealii Stephen Chun, a native of Yuma, Arizona, and an infantryman with Headquarters and Headquarters Company Brigade, 65th Engineer Battalion, 2nd SBCT, earned his EIB on his second try under the new standards. Though he failed the first EIB testing in August, due to the command giving him the opportunity to re-train and compete again allowed him to learn from his first mistakes and earn the coveted badge.
“A lot of Soldiers were really upset after not making the first EIB competition,” said Chun. “But those of us who remained resilient took the opportunity to re-train to the fullest and it showed during testing.”
Under the new standards, infantrymen must now complete 33 individually graded tasks, a 12-mile forced ruck march, a medical transportation lane known as “Objective Bull” and score an 80 percent in each event of the Army Physical Fitness Test.
Spc. Nicholas Pirolli, a native of Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, and an infantryman with Company A, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd SBCT, was one the many graders for EIB. Having earned his EIB in April 2012, this is his first experience grading.
“Even though Soldiers are given a chance to rest between tasks, I think the difficulty of the tasks still makes it a more challenging standard,” said Pirolli. “The thing with EIB is you have to want it. No matter the standards, you cannot just sham through it or you will never make it.”
The development of the EIB was initiated in 1944 by Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall to symbolize the importance of the infantry on the battlefield. The badge is a symbol that infantrymen are experts in their field and performed above and beyond the normal call of duty.
“Earning my EIB is very special to me, because it is something that you have to do on your own,” said Chun. “It shows that I am an expert at my trade and gives my leadership more confidence in my abilities. I look forward to using my experience with EIB to train my Soldiers and future Soldiers into experts as well.”
At the end of this EIB competition Soldiers who have earned the badge can use their experience and pass is on to both their peers and to Soldiers under them. With new EIB Soldiers and lessons learned from two competitions and train-up, 2nd SBCT can look forward to even more infantrymen earning their EIB in the future.